Brtjch



G. H. FAHRENBRUCH CAR DOOR APPLICATION FILED-MAR. 29: 1920.

if@ P Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

3 SHEETS--SHEET l.'

Grew' BJI.

G.' H. FAHRENBRUCH.

OAR DOOR.

unmno'n FILED MAR. 29. |920.

Patented Feb. 22,1921.

G. H. FAHRENBRUCH.

CAR DOOR.

l APPLICATION FILED MAR.29.1920. 1,369,229. Patented Feb. 22,1921.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.4

1 13 a 'g asa5 i a4 i i I i 31 I 3 i l 5 y, 30 asyz 30 4 3f figc?. 4 a? 4 15 Geo ,eJYl aizzfearuciz,

@Jion/lug GEVQRGE n rAHnENBRUcH, or OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

- cAnfnoon.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb 22 1921 v Application sied March 2e, 1920. serial No. 369,701.

To all 'who-m it may concern: e l

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. FAHREN- nunon, a citizen of the United States,res`iding at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have inventedv certain'V new and useful Improvements in Car-Doors,

or which the following is a specification. j

My invention relates toa new and useful improvement in car doors and to atype `ot door shown in the patent granted to me on' October 24, 1916, numbered 1,202,276.

In the present invention, however, two sliding doors are shown and a movable center post, so that both doorsinay be moved to their open position and the center post slid back thereby forming a maximum uii obstructed opening.

An object of the present invention is to provide a double door, a movable center post and means for tightly locking the doors in their closed position. l

Another obj ect of the present invention is to provide doors that may be used on cars orpcarrying general merchandise, refrigerator cars and also on cars forA carrying grain, wherein a tight fitting door is very necessary,

Another object is to provide a door that may be irstmoved slightly outwardly and then moved longitudinallyrof the car, the second door operated in the saine way and the center .post then moved to theside of the opendoor way. .f

Another object of the present invention is I to provide double doors that when placed in their closed position may be tightly locked in the lcasing and center post, so that none of the grain will be able-to vescape either from under the door or around its sides; and to provide a locking mechanismrthat will tightly wedge both doors in position in the sills and'centei' post and at the same time may beeasily released to permit, if desired, but a slight opening of one or both doors, por, both doors tobe fully opened and the Vcenter post moved if desired. 'A

Still another object of my invention is to so construct the double doors that the locking mechanism need be applied to only one being tightly "Still another object of the present inven- Ation is to construct the double doors and movable centerpost so that only one of the doors may be opened itdesired, the other I held in place until the center post is moved. f

" Still another object is to provide double doors, locking mechanism and movable ceni A ter post that may be easily installed on cars meuse as well as placed on new ones.

Another object is Vto providea doubledoor thatmay be easily operated, lit snugly within the frame and so constructed that it will remain tight evenafter hard service.-

With these and otherobjects in view, my invention consists of certain new and novel construction vand combination of parts as will hereinafter be more full-y described and pointed out inthe claims.

Referring now to the drawings forming a part hereof and wherein I have shown a preferred form; I i

Figure 1 is a view in elevation, both doors being shown in their closed and locked p0- sition; Y Fig. 2 is also a view in elevation, in this instance, however, the doors being open and the center post slid to one side; i

Fig. 3 is arvertical sectional view showing the door out and ready to slide;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation partly in section showing the center post; e

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the door in closed position, a portion being brolren away to show the locking groove;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view showing the doors and center post, the doors being in their closed position;

Fig. 7 is a similar view, and showing how the door is rst moved'when desired to open the same; and

Fig. 8 is a view from theI inside of the car and at the'top showing the guide rod for the center post.

Referringnow to Fig. `l, there is shown a part otpan'ordinary box car l, the door posts orstiles 2, and 3 and in the opening between them are shown the two doors 4 and 5. It is to be noticed that one of thedoors 4 is slightlylarger than the other one and in some instances opening of but this door may be all that is necessary.

.e Located between these doors is the movivoo able center post 6, which is provided with a casting 7 at its lower end which engages plate 12 which is adapted to bear against the inner surface of the top sill 13, so that the post cannot be forced outwardly. The sill 13 may be provided with a plate 14 to protect the sill and to furnish a smooth bearing surface for the plate 12.

A guide rail 15 is placed on the top sill over which passes the'downwardly extending portion of the plate 12 and a yoke arm bracket 12 is bolted to the post 6, into which arm fits thelower edge of the plate 12, thereby tightly retaining the post against i lateral movement.

Vsa

Located directly under the center post, when the same is in its normal position, is the member 16 which is riveted or bolted to the car, the said casting being *formed with the slot 18 so that the lug -10 of the casting on the center post may pass within the same. Y

The upper inner surface of this member 16 bears against the guide'rail 3 and may be rivetedor bolted thereto.

VFrom the above it will be seen that a slidable center post is provided having means at both its upper and lower ends for its guidance and also that the member 16 lastV mentioned will greatly reinforce the post when in its set position, so that even though a heavy load be placed against the same it will not be forced outwardly from its set position. At the same time, however, it may be easily moved longitudinally of the car when desired.

This center post may be completely reinforced with a metal sheathing 19 or metal plates may be applied to its surface, and on its opposite sides are lformed the vertical grooves or channels 2O (Figs. 6 and 7) into which lit the adjacent sides of the doors 4 and 5 when the doors are in their closed position.

Referring new to the doors 4 and 5 and the manner in which they are hung and operated it will be seen (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) that a rail for supporting the hangers is shown that extends the width of the door opening and for some distance on either side thereof. lThis rod 21 is securely bolted to the ear body as it supports both doors and is of such strength that it will not permit of any sagging of the doors.

Referring now to the hangers 22 there are four provided, two for each door, the upper recaen@ ends of each being provided with wheels for engaging the rail 21, while the lower ends are provided with eyelets 23 so that pins 25 may be passed through standards 24 fastened lto the door and the said eyelets 23, to provide va pivotal movement and allow the doors to fit back into the sills and center post. The hangers are of sufiicient length, and the standards placed a substantial distance from the top of the door so that this is possible.

The door 4 has its one edge 26 rounded t0 fit within the vertical groove 20 in the center post 6, while its other edge 27 is slightly tapered to fit snugly against the walls 2S of the sill 2, the inner edge of the door abutting against the slightly outstanding wall 29. (Figs. 6 and 7.)

' lt might be here mentioned that the bottom sill 9, the bottom of the casting 7 on ,the center post 6 and the bottom of the doors are cooperatively tapered so that the doors fit tightly in place at their bottom when locked in position while' the center post at its bottom fits snugly with the bottom sill so that if grain is carried it 'will not escape under either the doors or center post. Y

The other door 5, however, is rounded at both its edges 30 as one edge is to be received in a channel or groove 31 formed in the post or stile 3 while its other edge is to lit within one of the channels 20 in the center post 6.

Referring now to the manner of locking the door 5 which in turn will hold both doors in place, an arm 33 is shown adjacent the right hand side of the door which is vertically disposed and which is connected at its upper and lower ends to the bell crank levers 34 which are pivotally mounted at 35.

Two short arms 36 are connected to the respective bell cranks and to their outer ends are fastened the vertically positioned roller 37 which is adapted to wedge against the side of the door and into a groove 33 formed in the stile 2.

The lower bell crank lever has a downwardly extending arm 39 formed therewith which when forced upwardly (Fig. 1) will withdraw the roller 37 from the groove 33, the weight of this arm normally forcing the roller to its locked position.

A locking mechanism of this kind not only holds the door from longitudinal movement but also forces it inwardly, forming a tight fit on the bottom sill 9 and against the wall on the stile 2. It will also jam the ccnterpost tightly between the doors 4 and 5 holding all three tightly in place.

@f course the width of the opening and the width of the doors and center post is such that when the doors are in their closed position even before the locking mechanism is operated the doors and post will justvit,

the locking mechanism when operated further pressing the door 5 into a tight and snug closed position.

Secured to the door 4 is a chain 40, the outer end of which slides along the rod 40 so that the lower end of the door may move only slightly outwardly, and a similar chain is fastenedto the other door and passes upwardly which will remove the roller 37 from its jammed position between the `door and the walls of the groove 38. The handles 42 on the door 4 ma then be grasped `and the right hand side of the door moved to the position shown in Fig. 7

The door will then be moved slightly forwardly until its rear edge may be removedV from the channel 20 in the center post 6. The door will then be in the position shown in Fig. 3 and ready to slide forward away from the opening, as shown in Fig. 2.

To open the smaller door 5, the center post will be moved slightly to the right so that the edge will be removed from the channel in the center post and then this door may be moved slightly outward at its right hand side, then vslightly forwardly so that the other edge will slip from the channel in the sill 3 and after it has been moved outwardly beyond the frame it may likewise be pushed rearwardly out of the way.

The center post may then be pushed back out of the way against the sill 3 leaving an unobstructed opening. Y Y

If the car were ull of grain the large door could be opened to first the position shown in Fig. 3, that is, not vmoved forwardly of the car, until thegrain ceased to How, when it would be opened and moved forwardly as much as desired.

The operation to close and lock the doors is just the reverse of the above, the roller 37 tightly wedging the'door 4 against longitudinal movement, forcing the door 4 also wellup on the sill and preventing any lateral movement, while also tightly jamming the center post between the double doors.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a double door that is capable of general application.

Itmay be used on cars for carrying grain as the doors are arranged to prevent any losseither at the side or beneath the same.

Also it can be equally as well used on cars for carrying automobiles, refrigerating cars or cars carrying general merchandise; both'doors may be slid beyond the opening and the center post moved to one side.

Furthermore the doors and center post present a strong construction which is not generally possible in sliding doors, and at the same time the different guides employed prevent any undesirable lateral movement of either .the doorsor center post.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a door frame having Stiles, sliding doors and hanging means for said doors arranged to permit a. slight lateral movement of said doors, a center post also slidingly mounted in said frame and means for locking one of said doors to thereby force the door inwardly and lock the other of said doors and the center post in position.

2. In combination with a door frame hav ing Stiles, sliding doors, hanging means for said doors to permit a slight lateral movement of said doors, a center post also movably mounted in said frame and means for preventing any lateral movement of the same, locking means secured to one of the doors for forcing the same inwardly for tightly holding-thev two doors and center post in a locked position.

3. In combination with a door frame havslight swinging and lateral and then sliding movement of thedoors, a sliding center post,

` means for locking the doors and center post in position and said center post being capable of being moved to one side of the door frame whenthe doors are opened andv tongue and groove coperation between the frame doors and center post.

4. In combination with a door frame, sliding doors, hanging means pivotally secured to the upper portion of the doors permitting a slight lateral movement of the doors and said doors when hanging in a vertical plane with the hangers being out beyondv the door frame, a movable center post and means at the top and bottom thereof for preventing any lateral movement of the same and reinforcing means opposite its lower end when in its set position to further prevent any lateral movement, and

means for locking the doors and center post in their normal closed position.

5. In combination with a door frame, a movable center post, two doors, the said center post when in position holding one of said doors against movement, the other door capable of being shut and opened without moving said center post and means for locking the last mentioned door in the frame and center post to thereby jam the two doors and center post into substantially a compos ite unit.

6. In combination with a door frame having Stiles both of which are provided with adapted to enter the groove in the adjacent stile, means mounted on the door 'for operating the member ivhereby the door is 'iorced edgeivise into a groove in the center post and sidewise in the said adjacent stile and the other door held by the center post and remaining stile. Y

7. ln combination with a door trame, having stiles both ot which stilcs are provided with vertically extending grooves, doors movable in the traine., a center post also provided with vertically extending grooves on its opposite sides and said center post a so movable in said frame, one of said doors having a loclring member mounted thereon, adapted to enter the groove in its adjacent stile whereby the door is forced edgeivise into a groove in the conter post and sidoivise into the adjacent stile, the other ot said doors Fitting -Within a groove in the center post and a groove in its adjacent stile and securely held in position by locking the lirst mentioned door.

`5 ln combination With a door iraine have ing Stiles both ci? which are provided with grooves, the groove in one of the stiles being longer than the other, and the stile with the shorter groove provided with a lange, doorsmovable in the traine, a cenneeaaae ter post also movable'in said traine and provided with grooves on its opposite sides, one of said doors having a locking member thereon adapted to enter the shorter groove, whereby the door is forced edgevvise into the groove in the center post and sideivise in the stile with the shorter groove, and against said flange, the other' door fitting Within the stile with the longer groove and in the remaining groove in the center post, both doors and the center post all held tightly in position when the door with the locking member thereon is forced into place.

- 9. In combination With a door frame having Stiles, one of said stiles provided With a groove therein and the other oi said stiles having a relatively short locking groove formed therein, doors within said frame and hung so that they may move slightly laterally and forwardly and rearwardly, a center post also inovahly mounted in said frame and adapted to be moved to one side of the door 'frame when not in use, said center post provided With grooves on its opposite sides, means on one of said doors for entering the short locking groove to thereby torce the door edgeWise in the center post and sidewise in its adjacent stile, the other of said doors fitting Within the groove in its adjacent stile and in the groove in the center post and held against movement until said center' post is moved slightly forwardly; ln testimony whereof l aliix my si gnature.

Geenen rr. rarmnnnleiiorr. 

